Starry Night
by Sassassassin
Summary: For a six-year old girl, a year was a long time to wait for someone. But maybe he'd come back home faster if she tugged at the stars. [Nalu], One-shot.
_Hello everyone! Thank you for clicking, I hope you enjoy reading this._

 _It's a story I decided to write while I had two hours to spare in between calculus and biology, and the idea couldn't leave my head when I thought about, and I just had to write it._

 _Leave a review, they're really appreciated!_

 _This is rated T for some references to mature themes, but nothing explicit._

* * *

 **Starry Night**

* * *

-: :-

"Natsu?"

Natsu's head shot up from the desk he was hunched over, as he turned around to look at the intruder. A yawning Lucy was standing a few feet away from him, rubbing her tired eyes, and wearing his shirt with seemingly nothing underneath.

"What are you doing so late? Come back to bed, I need to snuggle up to you to sleep."

He shot her an uneasy smile, hiding his handy work behind him. "It's nothing Luce. Go back to sleep, I'll join you in a bit."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him, standing on her toes to try and sneak a glance at what he was hiding behind his back, which only resulted in his shirt riding up her thighs, and Natsu had to bite his lip at the arousing sight. "What are you hiding?"

"It's nothing to be concerned about," he laughed uneasily, as she slowly approached him. She straddled his lap, putting her thighs on either side of his hips, and put her arms around his neck.

"Lucy," he warned her, his mouth in a tight line.

"Come on, tell me what you're hiding," she smiled playfully, looking behind his head. On the desk, there were various sheets of different colors, pencils, and scissors. Had Natsu taken a liking to crafting?

"I can't tell you."

She frowned down at him. "Is it something serious? Is that why you can't tell me?"

"Nothing like that," he smiled, giving her a peck on the lips.

"What's with all the paper anyway? I've never seen you write before," she wondered, before smirking at him. "Are you writing a letter to a secret lover? Is there someone I need to beat up?"

"What? No, nothing like that! You know you're the only woman for me!" he said indignantly.

"The only woman huh? Could it be a man then?"

He made a disgusted face. "What the _fuck_?"

She simply ignored him. "I knew that rivalry with Gray was filled with palpable sexual tension. Is he your secret lover? Juvia is going to kill you. Man, I'd pay to see that."

He growled at her, upset that his own wife would tease him about his nonexistent affairs, and pushed her off his lap, folding his paper and setting it on the desk.

"Very funny. There is no sexual tension between Ice-prick and I. The only sexual tension in my life is when I'm with you," he said, pushing her down the hall towards their room. "Now let's go back to sleep, I'll take care of my business tomorrow."

"Why can't you tell me what it is?" she pouted, laying down on the bed. "Does it have anything to do with your mission coming up?"

"Yes," he replied, turning the light off and settling down on the other side of the bed. Lucy approached him, putting her head on his naked chest and sighing in content, while he wrapped his arms around her. "You'll learn about it in two weeks when I'll leave."

She pushed her face further in his chest, taking a whiff of his scent. "It's coming up too fast. I don't want you to leave."

"You know I have to," he answered, tightening his grip on her. "It's my only chance at finding Igneel."

"But it's a whole year," she mumbled. "The longest mission we've ever had was three weeks."

"You know that I never take long missions by myself, I don't want to leave you and Nashi alone, but I have to do this. I promise I'll be back before you realize it."

"She's going to miss you," whispered Lucy in the dark of their room.

"I just hope she doesn't hate me. I don't want to be the father who leaves their kid behind."

Lucy nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "She will understand, as long as you come back to us, safe and sound."

"I promise."

-: :-

"Daddy," said a six-year old little girl. "When are you leaving?"

"In three days," he smiled down at her, patting her pink hair. Her big brown eyes looked up at him, filled with sadness and apprehension, while her grip on her father's hand tightened.

"And you'll be coming back in a year?" she inquired.

"Exactly a year," he nodded. "You'll see, I'll be stronger and I will be able to protect you and your mother even better."

"But you won't be able to protect us if you're not here," she said innocently. Her words twisted his heart painfully, as he realized the full implication of his actions. He picked her up in his arms, opening the guild's door and stopping to observe the people inside.

"Perhaps, but all of them will be able to take care of you," he grinned, pointing the inside of the guild.

"You're right, dad," she grinned back, her mouth stretching in a similar fashion to his. He softened at her action, and kissed her on the nose, before setting her on the ground and watching her run away to play with his friends' kids with a tender gaze.

-: :-

"Do you have everything?" asked Lucy, patting him up to adjust his already wrinkle-free shirt.

"Yes Luce, everything's good."

"Did you forget anything? Do you have a change of clothes?" she rambled.

"Lucy, I have everything I need, you made sure of that like a trillion times," he joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, releasing him.

His eyes softened, as he held her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips and kissing her knuckle. "I'll be fine, you don't need to worry so much."

"One year daddy?" said a small voice. "Three-hundred and…thirty…sixty…"

"Three-hundred and sixty five days," he corrected her, crouching down to her level, smiling at her.

"I'm going to miss you," she sniffled, looking at him with a sad expression on her young face.

"I'm going to miss you too," he said bringing her in his arms to hug her. "Next time, I'll take you both with me to meet Igneel."

Nashi released him, an excited look gracing her face. "He's a dragon huh papa? I want to meet a dragon!"

"A dragon," he repeated, nodding. "For the meantime, I have something for you and your mother."

He reached inside his bag, pulling out a jar filled with small papers cut into stars, and placed it in his daughter's eagerly opened hand. "I wrote three-hundred and sixty-five things in here-"

"A year!" she said excitedly, attempting to open it.

"Don't open it yet," he chuckled, stopping her. "There's a paper for each day I'm gone. Open a new one every day, and it will feel like I'm there with you. Ask your mom to read it for you if you have trouble with it."

"What's written inside?" inquired Lucy.

"You'll see," he grinned up at her, before getting up and patting his pants to remove the dust coating his knee area. He bent down over her, before bringing her to his chest in a tight embrace, and kissing her on the forehead. "Look after Nashi, will you?"

"You don't need to ask me, you idiot," she mumbled in his coat, a lump in her throat. "She's my daughter too you know."

"Oh I know, I was there when we made her," he wiggled her eyebrows at her, and she hit him in the shoulder, which only resulted in him laughing at her. He sobered up a few seconds later, looking at the guild's entrance. "I've said my goodbyes to everyone now, I'll get going."

He started to make his way out, feeling himself tearing up, before someone held him by his scarf. He was abruptly turned around, and found his face inches from Lucy's. "Not so fast, you forgot something."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately and taking his breath away. He was so wrapped up in the kiss that he didn't notice the tears streaming down Lucy's face into his cheeks, until he could taste the salt in their kiss. When they separated, he cradled her face in his hands, wiping her tears and kissing her on the forehead, feeling his own eyes well up with tears. He felt something tug at his pants, and looked down to find Nashi with a similar expression to his wife's on her face.

"I don't want you to go daddy," she hiccupped, crying.

"Hey it's okay, don't cry," he said, picking her up to hold her close to his chest. "I don't want to go either, but I have to."

"I get it daddy, you want to find your own daddy. If you were gone I would do the same too," she smiled, wiping her tears with her small hands.

"Don't forget to open one paper every day, it'll give you stuff to talk about with your mother. I'll be back when there's no more papers inside."

"I will," she said with determination.

He put her down, before kissing her and his wife, and making her way towards the exit. He glanced at them one last time, smiling widely, before turning around and leaving for good, finally letting his own tears fall down his face.

"You know," said a voice behind Lucy, "when Gajeel left to find his own dragon, all he left behind was a baby in my stomach. That's surprisingly nice and clever of Natsu to do."

"Yeah," replied Lucy, looking at Levy. "I wonder what he wrote in those."

Nashi was still staring at the exit, clutching the jar tightly to her chest, and making sniffling noises from time to time, already wishing for her dad to be back.

-: :-

"Alright, let's see what your dad left for us."

Lucy sat down in the middle of the bed, while Nashi approached it and climbed up, sitting between her mother's legs and making herself comfortable with the jar in her hands. Her mother opened it, while Nashi giggled at the popping sound it made.

"Which do you want to open first?" asked Lucy.

"This one," said Nashi, picking up the pink one sitting on top of the pile. "It's pink, like daddy's hair!"

"And your hair," added Lucy.

"And my hair," nodded her daughter, excitedly waiting while her mother unwrapped the star. It was clumsily made, and hardly looked like a star, and she could notice the slightly burned edges. It was so Natsu that she had to stifle a laugh. Clearing her throat, she started to read.

"Once, I burned your mom's clothes on a mission so badly that she had to borrow mine for the rest of the ride back home. I had to walk around in only my underwear for a whole day."

Nashi started laughing, her giggles escalading quickly until she had to clutch her stomach.

"Daddy had to be Uncle Gray for a whole day!" she exclaimed.

"I remember that," grinned Lucy. "That was back when I joined Fairy Tail."

"Tell me more about that mission mommy," said Nashi expectedly.

"Alright," answered her mother, before starting to narrate. It wasn't long until the young girl fell asleep, and Lucy tucked her in Natsu's place on the bed, joining her a few minutes later.

-: :-

As the weeks passed, Lucy and Nashi settled into a routine. They would go back home, eat, and go to bed to open one of the papers. Each one held one anecdote that Lucy would elaborate on, turning into a story before her bedtime. But Nashi was quickly feeling the weight of her father's absence, especially when she would go to the guild and see Storm playing with Gray, or Rin playing with Gajeel. These were the moments she would miss Natsu the most, and wish that he would be with her, showing her tricks with his fire.

One day while playing with Storm, the young boy accidentally froze her legs to the ground, having limited control over his magic. Juvia came running up to him to see what the commotion was about when the two had started screaming, and laughed before calling Gray when she saw a red-faced Nashi stuck to the ground with ice running up her legs.

"It was an accident!"

"It's stupid!" she screamed at him. "Now I'm stuck here!"

"Mom said accidents can happen," scowled storm at her. "It wasn't my fault."

"It was your fault! Do you see anyone else who can control ice?"

"They like each other," snickered Happy, flying above the two kids who made a disgusted face at him.

"They fight just like Gray-sama and Natsu," giggled Juvia, who had come back with Gray on her trail and noticed the little exchange. Gray was standing at her side, looking at them with a smirk on his lips and with his shirt missing.

"Well, I'm sorry," Storm grumbled, folding his small arms over his chest and angrily looking away. Nashi furrowed her eyebrows, looking down at her frozen legs with fury in her eyes, as if her glare only could make it disappear. A few seconds later, she felt a prickling sensation in her legs, and her eyes went wide as fire spurted out of them, melting the ice around her legs, while she screamed under the adults' astonished eyes.

"Nashi!" shouted Lucy, who came running after hearing her daughter scream.

"Mom! There's fire in my legs!" she cried out, her eyes filled with tears.

"Does it hurt?" inquired her mother frantically.

"No," she answered, calming down. "It's just really, _really_ warm."

"Little squirt has fire dragon slayer magic," came a deep voice. Gajeel stood behind Lucy with Levy, looking at Nashi with an impressed look on his face.

"Fire magic," exclaimed a drunken voice. "Pay up, losers," said Cana, as numerous members made their way towards her to put money in her outstretched hands.

"Magic?" said Nashi, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she started to look around frantically. "Da-"

She suddenly stopped herself, realizing that she was about to shout for her dad. He was gone, and wouldn't be back for a long time. Lucy, noticing her daughter's saddened expression, crouched down in front of her, and grabbed her in her arms, while Nashi put her arms around her mother's neck and held on to her, her face hidden in her shoulder.

"I'll take Nashi home," she told the other, before making her way out. Nashi hadn't opened her mouth the whole way from the guild to their house, choosing to cling to her mother. When Lucy finally opened the front door, Nashi wiggled her way out of her embrace, and ran to her room before locking herself inside and throwing herself on her bed to cry. Her mother joined her moments later, holding her in her arms while her tears streamed down her chest.

-: :-

Lucy opened her bathroom, exiting clad in her towel and humming a tune to herself. She had taken a long bath after her mission that she had needed to take to pay for their needs. It had lasted a day, and only consisted of escorting an elderly rich woman out of the city. She couldn't afford to leave for longer periods of time, as she could leave Nashi with Levy for more than day in fear of upsetting her or reminding her of her father's absence.

She entered her room, and momentarily stopped when a most surprising sight welcomed her: Nashi was sitting in the middle of the bed, holding the jar inside her hands, and plucking out one paper after the other to read them. She could already see a good amount of them already opened and lying around her daughter on the bed, and some fallen on the ground.

"Nashi, what are you doing?"

"Reading them," replied her daughter angrily.

"Natsu said to open one every night, we'll run out of them faster and I won't have any story to tell you at night," reprimanded her Lucy, before removing the jar from her hands and closing the lid.

"They're stupid anyway," mumbled the young girl.

"Your dad would be upset to hear that."

"I don't care!" she exploded, standing up on the bed and waving her small arms around. "He left us, he doesn't care about us, and I shouldn't care about those papers. They're nothing!"

Lucy grabbed her daughters arm angrily, and Nashi yelped at the slight pain, as her mother dragged her down on the bed.

"Don't act like a spoiled brat. Your dad cares a lot about us, and he wouldn't leave if he had a choice. He'd been looking for Igneel for twenty years now, and this was a rare chance for him to find his own dad."

"Why would he look for his other family if he has his family here?" asked Nashi, her furious eyes filled with tears.

"He needs this. You'd do the same," answered Lucy softly. "You ruined the surprise now, these papers you opened are unusable. You know he stayed up all night for two weeks to make them for you."

Nashi guiltily looked down. "He did?" she said in a small voice.

"He did," affirmed Lucy. "It's okay, I'm sure I can still tell you more about the things he wrote."

Nashi shifted in her spot, getting closer to her mother and sitting on her lap, before wrapping her arms around her mother. "I'm sorry mommy, I was just upset. I was jealous when I saw Rin with Uncle Gajeel."

"It's okay honey, I understand. But don't worry, your dad will be back six months. There's already half a year that passed."

"But that's so long," she cried out. "I can't wait that long!"

"We'll wait together," said Lucy, patting Nashi's back.

There was a comfortable pause between them, before Nashi shifted in her mother's lap. "Daddy said that he would be back when the jar is empty."

"He did," smiled Lucy. "But that won't work now since you opened quite a lot of those."

"That's why I opened them."

"Huh?" inquired Lucy, looking down at her daughter.

"I thought that if the jar was emptied faster, he would come back sooner."

Lucy felt a tug in her heart at her daughter's words. Her thought process was so optimistic and hopeful that she couldn't help but think about Natsu. They were so similar and she was reminded of it every single day by her daughter's antics.

"That's not how it works honey. His mission is very far, and it will take him time to find Igneel."

"I know, it's stupid anyway," she grumbled.

"It's not stupid," laughed Lucy. "I'm sure Natsu would have done the same thing. You both take things so literally."

"You think so?" she said hopefully.

"I do. You're so alike it's crazy. And now that you both use the same type of magic, it's going to be harder to tame you."

Nashi jumped off her mother's lap. "I can't wait to show him my magic! I want him to train me!"

"Maybe he could take you to Igneel to train with the dragon like he did when he was young," smugly suggested Lucy.

Nashi's eyes went wide. "I could be a dragon slayer like dad!"

"You could," nodded Lucy. "Now young lady, let's pick up all those papers and count them to see how many days to add after the jar gets empty."

-: :-

"Auntie Mira, can I have a juice please?"

"Of course, dear."

Nashi was sitting at the bar, her legs dangling from the too high seat, with Rin sitting next to her. The two girls had been reading together the whole morning while Levy was watching over them. Nashi had decided to join them in their reading sessions to improve and be able to easily read the messages her father left for her. Unfortunately, they had run out of them about a week before, as she had opened two months' worth of them, but she had settled in a routine, and ended up thoroughly enjoying reading with her best friend.

"Daddy comes back in seven weeks," she declared.

"That's long," replied Rin, attempting to count down on her fingers.

"It is," she said maturely. "I'll be patient."

"What a good girl you are," said Mira, setting her juice in front of the girl and patting her on the head. "Are you excited to show him your magic?"

"I am!" she explained, taking a huge sip before making a face and reaching for the hot sauce across the counter, pouring a generous amount of it inside the cup under Mira's and Rin's disgusted faces. Nashi had taken a liking to anything spicy since she had discovered her magic, much like Natsu. "I can't wait to train with him, I'm going to become as strong as daddy!"

"With that determination, I wouldn't doubt it."

Gajeel, Wendy, and even Laxus had attempted to train the youngest Dragneel with controlling her fire, but unlike their magic, fire was harder to control and was more spontaneous, and they had quickly abandoned their attempts, silently hoping that Natsu would be able to help her control it. She had already set many tables at the guild on fire, and Happy's tail had almost burned to a crisp once when she was snuggling up to him. Her mother also kicked her out of her bed after she set it on fire one night, almost burning down the house. At least no one would die if Nashi burned down her own bed with only her sleeping in it.

"I'm home!" screamed a voice, as the guild's doors opened loudly.

Natsu stood at the door, his clothes dirty and his face covered with what seemed to be a few days' stubble, covering the scar on his cheek. When Nashi looked up and saw her father, she jumped off her seat, running to him and screaming loudly. When she launched herself at him, her whole body lit up with excitement, fire engulfing her, while her father held her in his arms, a stunned expression on his face. The fire died down when she wrapped her arms around him, crying in his shoulder, while the whole guild roared at his arrival.

"Daddy! I missed you so _so_ much!"

"I missed you too Nashi. You've gained quite a few centimeters in my absence," he laughed, rubbing his cheek against hers.

"Stop it dad, that tickled," she laughed when the short hairs on his face rubbed against her face. "You're back early!"

"It was shorter than expected," he laughed. "I'm glad to be back."

"I'm glad you're back too," she mumbled. "We ran out of papers."

"Huh?" he raised his eyebrow. "You opened them all? I'm not surprised. Never follow the rules kid."

"What do you mean by that?" said a menacing voice.

"Luce!" he gulped nervously. "I meant-I mean that you should always follow the rules! Especially your mom's rules!"

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck while looking at his wife. She was beautiful, even more than when he had last seen her. Her hair had gotten longer, and her eyes were filled with love that he knew was directed to him.

"Your mission?" she asked.

"It's done," he answered tenderly. "I found him, Lucy."

She smiled widely at him, before her eyes welled up with tears that instantly streamed down her cheeks. "I'm so happy," she sobbed out, jumping into his arms and hugging him, squeezing his lungs off the air that was inside them.

"I missed you so much, you and Nashi," he mumbled into her hair.

"We missed you too, my nights were cold without you," she replied, before kissing him as if her life depended on it. He had never realized how vital her kisses were to him until he took this mission.

"You haven't shaved, and you smell really bad," she mumbled, after separating from him.

"You do, dad," said Nashi's voice.

"I'm sorry," he laughed. "I was too excited to come back, and didn't stop on my way here."

"It's okay, I like it," grinned Lucy teasingly. "Not the smell, I like the stubble. It's sexy and feels good against my hand," she giggled, rubbing his face.

"You know," he murmured huskily into her ear, "I won't shave it off until you get to feel it between your thighs."

"Natsu," she gasped, her face heating up.

"Disgusting," said Gajeel, whose hearing picked up the seductive words.

"Shut up," groaned Natsu, his face reddening as Lucy hid hers in his shirt, before releasing him when she got a whiff of his smell.

"You really need a shower."

"Dad, dad!" said Nashi's excited voice as she grabbed his hand and tugged on it. "I can use fire, did you see?"

"I did! I'm so proud of you!" he grinned, picking her up by her armpits and throwing her in the air, while she screamed in happiness. "I'm going to train you so well you'll become the best dragon slayer out there!"

"Thank God," he heard Gray whisper.

"What did you say, ice-brain?"

"I said thank God, you daughter's been flaming up everything."

"That's my kid," he grinned, ruffling her pink hair. "We can beat up Gray together now."

"No," said Lucy firmly, grabbing his arm.

"As if," replied Gray. "My kid and I can beat you anytime."

"No one's beating anyone."

They all turned around, noticing a heavily pregnant Erza make her way towards them, a dark aura emanating from her. Erza was usually scary, but while pregnant, she was ten times scarier, and no one even wanted to look at her the wrong way.

"Erza!" exclaimed Natsu. "You're huge! Did you eat too much strawberry cake? I always knew that much sugar wasn't good for you."

"You idiot!" she screamed, hitting him on the head. "I'm pregnant!"

"You're having a kid? Wow, congratulations!"

"Thank you, Natsu," she softened up, before hugging him as best as she could with her protruding stomach pressed up between their bodies.

"It's-It's no problem," gasped Natsu between breaths, held up in her strong embrace.

"How about we celebrate your return?" said Cana, holding up her drink.

The whole guild went up in cheers, as Mira took out more glasses to fill up with alcohol. Fairy Tail truly used any opportunity to party.

-: :-

"Ah yes, A real shower. I missed those," moaned Natsu, rubbing his wet hair with a towel.

"You smell is finally tolerable," told him Lucy, putting a shirt over her head for bed, before flopping down on the mattress. "Come on, let's go to sleep. All this partying tired me up."

"But Luce," he complained, "I haven't shaved my face," he said, pointing to his stubble and grinning mischievously at her.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I have a promise to keep, remember?" he insisted.

"What pro-oh," she realized.

"Yes," he kept grinning, predatorily walking towards the bed. He climbed on it, pushing her down on her back, before kissing her deeply. He stopped for a moment, before smiling down at her. "You know, Nashi has Storm as a rival."

"Uhm?" she asked, still dizzy from the kiss.

"And Erza is now pregnant. Her kid is going to need someone his age to fight."

"People don't need to fight at all times, Natsu," she said exasperatedly.

"But that's how it works in Fairy Tail! There needs to be a continuity between the generations!"

"I'm too surprised that you know the word continuity to even comment on your logic. Plus, I have no idea where you're coming from."

"Let's make another kid!" he grinned down widely at her.

She choked on her own spit, coughing in her husband's face. "A kid? Now? How?"

"Yes, yes, and well, when a man and a woman love-"

"Stop," she said. "We're not going to get ourselves into this this easily. We need to talk about it."

"But it's time. I want another kid, and you said you wanted more kids as well. Nashi is almost seven now, it's time to give her a small sibling."

Lucy pondered for a moment. "You finally come back after almost a year, and the first thing you want is another kid."

"What can I say, I'm full of surprises."

"Alright."

"Alright what?"

"Let's have another kid."

"Yes!" he exclaimed with excitement, grabbing a handful of her shirt and pulling it up her body. He was stopped midway when the door to their room burst open, and a groggy Nashi made her way inside.

"Mommy? Daddy? Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Of course dear," smiled Lucy, pushing Natsu off of her and patting the mattress. Natsu groaned and flopped down on his back, grumpily muttering to himself about 'not getting any'. Their daughter climbed up the bed, and settled between her parents, sighing happily to herself and clutching her father's arm while he turned off the light on their bedside table.

"Goodnight mom, goodnight dad," she muttered sleepily.

"Goodnight small one," answered Natsu, overcome with tenderness.

"Goodnight Nashi," yawned Lucy. "I hope I don't die tonight."

"What?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

Pause. "I guess I'm going to have to fulfill my promise tomorrow."

"Natsu, shut up."

"Mom, that's rude. Apologize to daddy."

"Yeah, listen to your daughter, apologize to _daddy_."

"If you both don't fall asleep at this instant, I'm kicking you out of this bed. Forever."

 _Snores_

* * *

 _There you go! A small fluffy one shot for you guys. The title has nothing to do with the painting, it simply refers to the stars in the jar that Lucy reads to Nashi at night, if some haven't caught the meaning of it._

 _I hope you all liked it, I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. Leave your impressions, I always look forward to reading your comments!_


End file.
